


Sub Aqua

by GoldenLunarlight



Category: SKAM (Italy)
Genre: M/M, Merman!AU, Pirate!AU, andrea is in this fyi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-19 05:21:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22305880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenLunarlight/pseuds/GoldenLunarlight
Summary: Elia is an adventurous merman and discovers something he shouldn't have, Filippo is a pirate on a journey to find exactly what Elia has found.
Relationships: Elia Santini/Filippo Sava
Kudos: 17





	Sub Aqua

**Author's Note:**

> the merman/pirate au that no one asked for? here it is!
> 
> I apologize if there are any major (grammar/syntax/...) mistakes that I've overlooked

Four mermen are racing through the water, away from a fifth, who’s counting down from 20. They know that apart from some coral, there’s little to hide behind, so they’re flipping their fins fast towards the two possible better options. The cave or the shipwreck, only one of them is off-limits, but that has never stopped Elia, Luca trailing not far behind. 

“I know where you’re going and you’re not allowed to go there,” Luca says as he swims in front of Elia, trying to stop him.  
“No one will find us there, Lu, and Martino and Gio are going to the cave, so the ship is the only option we have,” Elia answers, “Plus, Niccolò has only been in these waters for a few months, he probably doesn’t even know about the existence of it.” 

Luca shakes his head but follows Elia anyway. 

By now, they’ve swum further than they possibly could have in 20 seconds, all because of the thrill of going somewhere they’re not allowed to. If they look behind, the others are nowhere in sight, so Luca and Elia are not worried. At least not about being found. 

The ship looms over them before they realise. For a second, they stop to admire how majestic it is. Almost all young mermen and mermaids of their kingdom grew up with the tales of the grandmas, of the time before the ship, when the shadow loomed over the kingdom for one moment, the next moment they heard screams and saw it sinking to the bottom. The king had forbidden everyone to help the people from drowning, ordering them to go home instead and to stay there until the guards had made sure that everyone inside the ship was dead. If there were survivors, they were to be handled with, because no human could know about the existence of the underwater kingdom. 

Only one disobeyed and saved as many people as she could, swimming as fast she could to bring the sailors to the shore, out of sight from the king. No one knew about this, not even the king, except one boy, for it was his grandma. 

Each time he reaches the ship, Elia’s mind goes back to the nights when his grandmother told him this when he had begged her for just one more story. He didn’t always fall asleep right after, thinking of the humans his grandmother saved and if they remembered her. Would there be children onshore who also grew up with these stories? Boys and girls begging their grandparents to hear about the mermaid who saved them? In his mind, Elia’s grandmother was a hero for disobeying the king’s orders, but he knew that if anyone found out, she would not be seen as such. 

There had been no more shadows or ships above their kingdom in decades, so everyone assumed that they were safe and no one had discovered his grandmother’s secret. 

Elia and Luca enter the ship using one of the gun ports. 

“They’re never going to find us here, we have all the time to scavenge.” 

“Haven’t we done that enough?” Luca asks, hesitating to swim further inside the ship. Elia flips backwards excitedly.

“There must still be some parts we haven’t discovered, Lu, this ship is massive! Come on,” and in the next room he disappears. Luca looks around the room, seeing it in a gloomier light than before now that he’s alone and follows Elia quickly. He has to call for him a few times, but Elia’s head pops out of a hole in the wall, 

“Need your help opening this door, Lu, I think it hasn’t been opened in ages.” 

“Tell me how you managed to find this door only now when we’ve been here so many times before?” 

Elia shrugs, “Moved some things around.” 

“That’s dangerous! Everything could have collapsed.” 

“But it didn’t, and now I really want to know what's behind the door, so help me.” 

Luca looks around one more time and then goes to help his friend. They struggle only a little until they hear a click. Elia is quick to open the door, not even waiting for another of Luca’s warnings. 

The room must have been someone’s personal quarters, Elia thinks. Hastily left, as all the other rooms they have previously discovered. There’s a wardrobe close to the wall, a round table in the corner and a four-poster bed, but a treasure chest in the middle of the room immediately catches Elia’s eye. Behind him, Luca marvels at the mostly intact room, 

“Who do you think lived in this room?” 

Elia doesn’t answer him immediately, instead too focused on opening the chest. 

“Must have been someone important, it’s been so long since this ship sunk and this room is barely in decay,” Luca continues. He flops down on the bed, puts his hands underneath his head, “Maybe a pirate lord, can you imagine what could have happened in this room, Elia?” 

Elia hums, not focusing on what Luca is saying, “Maybe there’s an undiscovered treasure in this chest, Luca, if you help me open it, you get one fifth.” 

Luca leans on his elbows, “Half.” 

Elia ponders and nods, “Fine, only if you don’t blabber to the others or anyone else that we were here.” 

Luca gets up and shakes Elia’s hand to close the deal. It’s a lot harder to open the treasure chest than the door, so they start looking for something heavy to break the lock with. Luca inspects the drawers of the wardrobe but comes back empty-handed. Elia swims around the entire room, hoping to maybe see something glittering, perhaps a key, on the ground or ceiling. 

“Maybe it can’t be opened,” Luca tries, “we really should head back.” 

They have been gone for way too long, they both know that. It is not unlikely that the others have started looking for them, having abandoned the game, and it won’t be long until they realize Luca and Elia went to the ship. At least they know for sure that they won’t alert any of their parents, a huge reassurance for Elia. It would mean Luca and Elia won, the thought crosses Elia’s mind quickly, but he has long forgotten the game now. Solely focused on opening the chest, he swims around the room again. 

“Let me try one more time or the others will never believe what we found.” 

“We can always come back here,” Luca says quickly, only realizing what he said when he sees Elia’s smirk. 

“But then we’d have to split the treasure in 5, but it’s good to know that you’re finally a bit more rebellious.” Elia dives underneath the table and sees a little square cutout. He pries it loose with the drafting compass he had previously used on the lock and a key on a chain falls out. He’s back at the chest in no time and with a little force, the lock opens. Luca is next time and with one last breath and a glance at one other, they open the chest. They were expecting to see heaps and heaps of glittering gold and jewels, but there are only old garments to be seen. 

“Are you f-” 

As Elia starts to complain, Luca takes one of the pieces out but drops it immediately, because underneath the first layer of clothes, is a smaller chest. Elia and Luca look at each other again and then back at the chest.

“We should leave this here, we’ve done enough,” Luca says, starting to lower the lid. Elia nods, although he doesn’t want to. 

“Are you guys in here?” A distant voice, very similar to Giovanni’s, calls and Luca is out the room in a millisecond. Elia takes one last look at the box and closes the treasure chest. 

“Never thought you’d convince Luca to go the ship, Elia,” Giovanni enters and swims around the room, “How did we never see this room before?” 

Elia shakes his head and shrugs. He’s sitting on the treasure chest in an attempt to keep the attention away from it, and breaths out when Luca reappears and asks them all to leave now as it’s starting to get darker.

“Are you okay, Elia?” Gio asks concerned, “If we head back now, no one is going to know we were here, no worries.” 

They return home and each goes their separate ways. When he knows for sure that everyone is asleep, he sneaks out and swims as fast as he can back to the ship. It doesn’t take him long to locate the hidden room now and he’s out in no time with the small treasure chest in his hands.

⁂

Above water, someone is staring at the vastness of the ocean, sitting on the bow of his ship. 

“We’re not going to find anything tonight, Filo,” A woman’s voice calls out behind him and he knows, but they came so close to finding the reason they started this journey today. If only they hadn’t come across the Incanti Fleet, which set them back at least 4 days. Luckily, there was no damage done to the ship, as Eleonora and Eva had stood on deck and had given the dirtiest of looks to the captain until he and the rest of his ships turned away. It wasn’t the first time they had run into the Incanti fleet and Filippo was sure it wasn’t going to be the last time. He could only hope that they were not following the Savage because they too knew about the treasure. 

“I know, little sis, but we came so close today, I don’t want today to end yet.” 

Eleonora steps closer to her brother, “I know, but if you go to sleep now, tomorrow we might finally find what we’re looking for.” 

“And then what, we return home?” He turns to face his sister. 

Eleonora places a reassuring hand on her brother’s shoulder, “What else is there to do? If we know where the ship is, grandfather will be delighted.” 

Filippo drops his head, “There’s a lagoon a few miles away from here, it is rumoured that merpeople gather there sometimes if we could get close-” 

“And then what? Wait until one shows up? Befriend them? Filo, whatever idea you have, that’s impossible. We’ve all heard the stories of the cruelties of the merfolk and we don’t even know for sure that they exist, you can’t-” 

“Grandfather always said-” 

“It was a long time ago, Filippo, grandfather’s mind has started to fog up more and more, we can’t trust-” 

“He has been telling the same story since we were young, Ele, he was completely sane then, and he still is, especially when he’s talking about his journeys at sea.” 

Eleonora closes her eyes for a second, “Just don’t bring my crew into any more danger than necessary.” With that last remark, she leaves and Filippo watches her going beneath the deck. He yawns and realises he should go to, but can’t seem to get away from his spot on the bow. Besides, he prefers being outside anyway, he has always loved being on a ship, has been since he was little, but lately, whenever he was below deck it felt like he was suffocating. He goes to the helm, to have a little bit more certainty that he won’t fall off the ship during the night and falls asleep. 

A few hours later, he’s abruptly awoken by a kick to the shin. 

“Morning, Captain, still heading northwest as you ordered yesterday.” 

Filippo gets up and takes out his spyglass, “Great, Federica, is there-” 

“Breakfast has been brought to your quarters, Captain.” 

“Thanks, Fede, you’re my favourite.” 

“We all know that’s not true, but thanks, Captain.” 

Once in his quarters, he finds Eleonora with her feet on the table, munching on a biscuit. One of his biscuits no doubt. Silvia stands in front of her, a list in her hands. 

“Nice of you to join us, I’m surprised we didn’t attract rival pirate ships with your snoring.” 

“Get your feet off my table, Ele, as captain, I’m the only one with feet on the table-privileges.” 

“As your sister,” But she stops the sentence when Filippo pushes her feet off the table and addresses Silvia. 

“I take Eleonora has filled you in on my plan?” Eleonora snorts, while Silvia only looks at Filippo with wide eyes. 

“No, sir, captain, she has not.” 

“Well, okay then, time for me to tell you all about it then, what do you know about merpeople, darling?” Filippo takes a seat and puts his feet on the table, looking at Eleonora with a smirk. He takes a bite of a dry biscuit and indicates that Silvia may speak. 

“Not much, I heard they’re very pretty.” 

“Hm, anything else?” 

“They lure people into the sea and drown them, some say they feast on the human flesh afterwards, others say they kill first and then take the bodies beneath the sea.” 

“Very good, Silvia, so what do you think about catching one?” 

Silvia’s eyes grow wide, “Impossible.” 

“Now, now, you seem like a person who believes in ‘nothing is impossible’, so please, go inform Federica we’re sailing towards the lagoon.” 

“But Filo, that would take us away from-” Eleonora stands up, leaning forward with her hands on the table. 

“We don’t know the exact location, Ele, if we can catch a creature who lives under the sea, they will be able to give us more information about the ship and what’s left of it, that’s more than we could ever have hoped for.” 

Silvia nods and bows, not wanting to witness a sibling fight, “I’ll inform the rest of the crew, captain.” 

“You’re insane,” Eleonora whispers. 

“You knew that when you and your crew signed up for this journey, Ele, and I prefer to hear that I’m driven and passionate, focused on the end result. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have yet to eat breakfast.” 

Eleonora sighs heavily and stomps out the captain’s quarters. 

⁂

A few hours later, Filippo emerges from his quarters and goes to join Federica at the helm. He passes Eva on the way, who had laid all of her guns out before her. 

“I heard we’re going hunting, Captain, figured I’d be ready for a fight.” 

Filippo took one of her pistols and admired the carvings, “Hopefully we won’t be needing these, but I admire your enthusiasm.” 

“Always, Captain.” 

Federica acknowledges her captain with a nod, “Silvia told me the merpeople only appear before noon, Captain, we’re way past that point by now.” 

“So what do you suggest? We wait?” 

Federica smiles, “These waters are too shallow for the Savage, if we continue northeast we risk sailing into sandbanks, and then we’d have a real problem. We can always scout the area with the wherry, then go back tomorrow.” 

“Wonderful idea, I’ll get the team ready. Sana and Eva?” 

“Excellent choice, Captain.” 

⁂

Since he has found the treasure chest- reminding himself that it is not stealing when it was left behind- he hasn’t left his room. He has tried everything to open it, but even the sharpest shell he could find broke off. He also couldn’t find a hiding spot for it in his room, for he has little property as it was and he’s always thinking that it would be immediately visible to an outsider, no matter where he hides it. He thinks about hiding it at his grandmother’s place, but she has been inside the ship. There was a bigger chance that she had found similar items and would know immediately where Elia had been. Not that she would mind, she loves that he had inherited her rebellious spirit, but she would take it from him and he doesn’t want that. 

With that in mind, he does what every rebellious teenage merperson would do. He goes above water, and in his haste, he does not see the large shadow of a ship looming above him.

⁂

Filippo rows as close to the lagoon as possible. 

“Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Sana leans her elbows on the edge of the boat, not even looking at Filippo. 

“To search for any kind of proof that merpeople do come here,” he turns to Eva, “and you, stop looking so excited, we’re not killing any creatures, it would do us more harm than good in the long run.” 

Eva holds up her hands in defence, but it’s no use, as she does it with both her pistols in her hands, “Just here to protect you, Captain.” 

Filippo rolls his eyes. 

“No way,” Filippo hears Sana whisper, and he follows her line of sight. A boy is sitting on a rock in the lagoon, with his back turned towards them. His skin glistens in the sunlight, and he must be a - but before Filippo can finish the thought, Eva has her pistols pointed at the boy and fires. 

“Eva, don’t!” He yells, but it’s too late. The boy - merboy, merman? Filippo thinks because the dark blue tail is clearly visible now - turns to them and bolts back into the waters. 

“Are you out of your mind?” Filippo yells at his gunner, “I ordered you not too- I’ll tie you to the mast when we’re back on the ship, Brighi.” 

Eva puts her pistols away, “Hm, are you sure you want to tie your best,” she coughs, “your only gunner to the mast? But at least we know now that merfolk do exist and that this is their favourite hangout place, so let’s go back to the ship!” 

⁂

For a second, Elia thinks he’s hit, that he’s done for, that his soul has left his body, that the sharks will feast on his body, but then he realizes that he’s still breathing and that it was only the impact of diving to fast from that rock that made him catch his breath. He does not even swim far down, so he returns, careful to stay on the other side of the rock, away from the - pirates, he realizes, they match the descriptions of the people that often featured in his grandmother’s stories whenever Elia begged her for ‘a grown-up scary story’. He has never seen one in real life, so his curiousness takes the best of him and he reemerges. His eyes are barely above the rock, scared to be seen, but the boat and the pirates are rowing away again. As he is about to head back underwater, the pirate facing him looks up and catches his eye. The pirate looks away a moment later, seemingly without mentioning it to the others in the boat and Elia goes under. 

⁂

After a lot of yelling at Eva, to Filippo’s surprise not only from him but also from his sister, calmness returns to the Savage. Eva is not tied to the mast, but she’s put on deck duty for an unforeseeable future. Filippo returns to the bow, ignoring the questioning look his sister gives him. He’s still thinking about what happened at the lagoon and wonders if they would have been able to talk to the boy. And hopefully cut this journey short by at least a few days, because the food was running low and even more important to stay sane on the ship, the rum as well. Federica comes to ask if the plan to go the lagoon again tomorrow has not changed and if she should drop anchor. Filippo nods briskly, not able to take his eyes off the lagoon. 

It gets dark early in these waters and before he knows it, the ship is quiet. He wonders if Federica brought dinner to his quarters, but he can’t seem to change his position. It has been hours, but there was no indication that the merboy had returned. Still, Filippo couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still there. He looks back onto the deck and makes an impulsive decision. He drops down onto the rowboat, lights the lantern and heads for the lagoon for the second time that day. When he’s almost at the shallowest part, he wonders if he should have brought some food, but he shakes his head as if offering a biscuit means instant friendship. But how does one befriend one of the merfolk? Filippo had read about mermaids and mermen and had heard stories from the elders during campfires, but not one of them had mentioned becoming friends with them. As if that option is not available. Is it really an impossible task he takes on? Is it the heat or the lack of vitamins that bring in such absurd ideas? No turning back now, so he waits. 

And waits, until the oil lamp dies and he has trouble keeping his eyes open. But then he feels the boat rock lightly and startles awake. He sees two glittering eyes peeking above the edge of the ship. They don’t look red even in the darkness, so Filippo crosses that myth of his mental list. The hands look normal as well, no claws, nor fins between his fingers. 

“Hi,” he offers his hand, but the boy only stares at it, “Sorry for scaring you earlier.” 

The boy rocks the boat again, and Filippo checks the ‘Strength’ box on his list. When the boat is still, the boy offers his hand. Filippo smiles and takes it.

Now that was a mistake. Before he knows it, the boy pulls Filippo into the water. For a second, Filippo thinks of his now wet clothes, mentally thanking his past self for not wearing his fancy leather coat. Then he remembers he never learned how to swim. The boy is still holding his hand, but he is no longer pulling, Filippo hopes he can cross off ‘Pulls sailors to their deaths’ soon. He must look like a pufferfish, trying to hold his breath for as long as possible. 

The boy swims around him and checks the pockets of his breeches, but is left empty-handed. Filippo feels the air escape his lips little by little, starting to become lightheaded. He feels two hands on his cheeks, praying to the pirate gods that the boy won’t push the air out completely. The hands go lower on his neck and Filippo feels them close around the chain. He tries getting away from the merman, but he’s too weak and the last thing he sees before using his last bit of strength to get above water again is the necklace around the merman’s neck, the key on it glistening against his chest.

He regains his breathing quickly once he’s in the open air again, resting only a little more before pushing himself back on the boat. He’s interrupted once again by the merman mimicking his pose on the boat. 

“Do you need help?” 

Filippo’s mouth falls open and he almost falls in the water again, but the merman is quick to keep him upright. 

“You can understand me?” 

The boy nods, “Sure I can, or you’re dreaming this.” 

“Or I died and you’re the angel who’s assigned to bring me to heaven.” 

“I don’t know what that means,” he says with raised eyebrows, “but you’re not dead, I saved you!” He smiles and the mental list is back in Filippo’s head, no teeth as sharp as a knife, but pearly white straight teeth instead. He catches sight of the necklace,

“Could I maybe have that back?” 

The boy takes the chain in his fingers, and shakes his head, “Nope, see it as a thank you for saving you.” 

“You’re the one who pulled me into the water!” 

“You came here earlier, did you not? And your friend shot something at me, I recognized it from my grandmother’s descriptions.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that. You’re not hurt, are you? We meant no harm.” 

The boy shakes his head, looking behind Filippo at the ship, “You should head back, it’s dangerous out here, were you not warned against flesh-eating merfolk?” The boy shows off his smile, baring his teeth once more and Filippo looks at his ship, some lanterns have already been lit, it won’t take long until his entire crew is awake for a new day. Filippo pushes himself in his boat, 

“How can I get my key back?” 

The boy ponders, pursing his lips, “There’s a rock shaped like a dolphin not far from here, go there and you’ll get your necklace back.” 

Dolphin mountain is a well-known orientation point on pirate maps, more or less two days away from where they are now if the wind is in the right direction. It also means two days away from where they’re headed. But they will need the key for the final part of the journey if they ever make it there. 

Filippo puts out his hand again, he thinks he might be pulled into the water all over again, but the boy shakes his hand, “Deal.” 

Filippo begins to row back to ship, but stops, “What’s your name?” He yells. 

“Elia!” 

“See you at the mountain, Elia! My name is Filippo!” 

He doesn’t get an answer but sees a fin break through the water.

⁂

Elia has never swum to his home so fast, making a few underwater backward somersaults out of pure excitement. His intuition about the lagoon again was right, now if only his intuition about the key could be right as well. 

⁂

“The reason you hired my crew was so you wouldn’t go out on the sea alone, Filippo, especially at night, what were you thinking?” Eleonora sighs, waving her hands to get any reaction out of her brother, “And now you want to change course and head towards Dolphin Mountain? Grandfather never spoke of-“ 

“Don’t you trust your captain, Ele?” 

Ele groans in frustration, “I trust my captain just fine, it’s my brother who I’m worried about.” 

“Well, don’t be, I’m still here to make your life the absolute worst, so you’re welcome.”

“ I told you, don’t bring-“ 

“Your crew into any more danger, I know, if I had a piece of gold for every time you had said that I would be able to buy my own crew by now.” 

They’re interrupted by a knock on the door and Eleonora’s entire crew steps into the room.

“We have reason to believe the Incanti fleet is following in our trail again,” they all look at Eleonora, Filippo coughs, and 4 pairs of eyes turn to Filippo, Silvia hastily adds, “Captain.” 

“How far?” It’s Eleonora who speaks up, pinching her nose between her fingers. 

“We think they will be able to reach us in two days from now,” Silvia walks up to the table and moves a few pawns, “That’s not at all, Captain.” Silvia peers through her eyelashes at Filippo, hesitant to break the news “There’s a ship with an hourglass flag hoisted.” 

“Filo,” Eleonora starts, but Filippo holds up his hand to silence her. He does not need her pity when it comes to his ex, who stole his crew. And their booty. And Filippo’s reputation resulting in no crew wanting to work with Filippo again. 

“Can we take them?” He addresses Eva, who shakes her head in response. 

“I don’t think we’ll be able to shake them off a second time as we did before, Captain. Not with Dario,” Filippo shoots her a dark look at the mention of the name, “What I’m trying to say is, he knows this ship’s weak spots better than us, we’d be fools to engage in a fight.” 

Filippo nods curtly, understanding the situation. He knows that they make little change against Edoardo Incanti’s fleet and now especially with Dario on their heels. The Savage is doomed. 

“We need to find out why they’re tailing us,” Sana’s voice comes from the corner as clear as day, “So we need to infiltrate.” 

Eleonora is quick to turn to her, “No one is infiltrating anywhere.” 

“Shame, you’d be the best candidate to do so, Edoardo trusts you. Or Eva could go and make amends with Federico, I’m sure he knows of Edoardo’s plans. Loosen a few buttons, lift your skirt a little, drop a handkerchief, he’ll be a saltwater puddle at your feet.” 

“It’s not a bad idea, Ele.” Eva wraps her hand around Eleonora’s wrist. 

“How do you expect them to believe you that we left you?” 

Filippo gasps, “Mutiny!” 

All the girls turn to him, Sana smirks, immediately understanding what Filippo is referring to. 

“We have to make them believe this is real, we can’t let you leave with nothing, but it may also not be too comfortable,” Filippo starts pacing around the room, “Leave your weapons, except for one pistol. Take a few biscuits and some water. If you leave now, they’ll find you in a day.” 

In no time the crew has a backstory, more or less what really happened at the lagoon yesterday, and provisions ready. Once they’re on deck, Eleonora puts her hands on Eva’s cheeks. 

“I’ll come to look for you in 2 days if we hear nothing from you by then, okay.” Eva nods and leaves the Savage. When she’s out of earshot, Eleonora bumps her shoulder into Filippo’s and storms off to her quarters. Filippo turns to the rest of the crew, but they’re all staring at the spot that is no longer recognizable as Eva in the waves. It’s Silvia who breaks the silence and gets them all back to work. Filippo stays staring at the sea for a little while longer, hoping that their trust in the Incanti fleet to find Eva in time is not out of place. 

⁂

Elia reaches home, clutching the key tightly in his fist. He knows that there’s a little chance that this one key would be the key that he needs to open the treasure chest. On the other hand, there have not been any ships in this part of the ocean in decades, the fact that he had found a treasure chest he can’t open, and a pirate wearing a key on a chain around his neck shows up in these waters at the same time, set off alarms in his head.

When he pulled the pirate - Filippo - into the water, it had been because he thought it would be funny, but then he spotted the golden key peeking underneath the purple shit and his mind immediately went to the treasure chest. 

Now he’s trying to reach his room without looking suspicious, but he nearly swims into his grandmother on the way to his room. 

“Whoa there, you look like you’ve seen a pirate!” She laughs, putting her hands on Elia’s shoulder, her smile disappears when she spots Elia’s shock stricken face, “You haven’t seen a pirate, have you?” 

“Grandma-” 

“Before you do something you’ll regret, I want you to know that I trust you, but you have to be 100 percent sure that you can trust them as well.” 

Elia looks up at his grandmother and sees a soft but concerned look in her eyes. He unclenches his fist and reveals the golden key. 

“I went to the ship,” Elia starts and his grandmother smiles understandingly, knowing that Elia inherited the adventurous gene from her, “I don’t know how, but there was a hidden room and inside we found a treasure chest, but we couldn’t-”

At the mention of the hidden room, his grandmother’s smile fades, “Where is this treasure now, Elia?” 

“It’s in my room, I was going to -” 

“Go get it, and do not open it.” 

Elia scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion, “But I -” 

“It could be dangerous, honey.” His grandmother replies in a reassuring tone. 

“More dangerous than going against direct orders?” Elia finishes his sentence before he knows what he’s saying. A cold look washes over his grandmother, 

“Now.” She says curtly, now actively avoiding Elia’s eyes. So he obeys and takes the treasure chest out of its hiding place. He considers trying to the key for a second but decides against it for his grandmother would definitely know. He hands it to her, 

“I’m sorry, Elia. I hope you’ll understand later.” And off she swims to her own quarters. 

⁂

A day passes in which Elia cancels any plans he had with his friends, instead choosing to spend the day swimming circles inside his room and making up what could be found in the treasure chest. There’s a possibility that his grandmother knows what’s inside, maybe she even put it there, he thinks, but it’s also possible that she doesn’t want anyone else to find out that he went to the ship. Elia wants to spend the next day alone as well, but his friends decide differently, showing up unannounced and dragging Elia outside. 

“You have been way too absent and we are changing that, right now,” Giovanni says as he pulls Elia out of his room. Right before they leave Elia’s room, Giovanni stops him by putting his hand on Elia’s elbow, “but if there is anything that you need to talk about, know that I’m here, okay? We all are.” He nods towards were the others are undoubtedly waiting. Elia nods briefly. He remembers when Martino stopped hanging out with them for a few weeks last year and how worried they all were, especially Giovanni. What is there to say? I found a mysterious treasure chest with a smaller box inside and I’ve been hurting my brain over what could be inside of it, but now it doesn’t matter because now my grandma took it and I have no idea why. Not to mention, I met a pirate and I think we’re friends? Also have not been able to get him out of my head either and I’m meeting up with him again in a few hours. But he keeps his mouth shut and joins the others. 

“The last one is a blobfish!” Martino shouts once Giovanni and Elia appear. He bolts away from them, Niccolò following in tow. Elia is the last one, but instead of calling him out, the others look at each other and change the subject to what game they’re going to play. 

The switch between several games, each time getting bored quickly or starting a discussion because they can’t figure out who won. When such a discussion occurs for the third time, distracting the others, Elia takes one last look and dashes upwards. He’s closer to Dolphin Mountain than he thought, spotting a figure on one of the rocks with his face angled towards the sun, leaning on his elbows, one leg bent at the knee. Elia swims closer and sees that Filippo’s eyes are closed. He’s about to splash water on him with his tail when Filippo sits up and opens his eyes. 

“I was afraid you weren’t going to show up,” he smiles, turning towards Elia and putting his feet into the water. Elia floats on his back, making his fin stand up vertically. 

“I’ll have you know I was warned against pirates.” 

Filippo laughs, kicking with his feet to send water in Elia’s direction, “Yet you’re here.” 

“You don’t look dangerous.” Elia returns the gesture by splashing his fin. Filippo laughs, holding up his hand to protect himself from the water. 

“Maybe I’m good at playing pretend,” Filippo winks, “Can I maybe have my key back now?” 

Elia closes the distance between them and pushes himself up using Filippo’s knees. Leaving only the tip of his tail in the water. 

“What does it open?” He’s staring directly into Filippo’s eyes at this angle. 

“I don’t know, my grandfather gave it to me and told me to go on this journey,” Filippo answers, not averting his gaze. Their noses could touch if Filippo moves forward just a little. 

Elia tilts his head to the side and purses his lips, “You don’t know what you’re looking for?” 

Filippo shakes his head and takes a pocket watch out of his jacket that lies next to him, “I know I’m looking for a shipwreck that has this insignia on it,” Filippo turns the watch and reveals an emblem consisting of a circle, a feather and a ship, “and for a chest of some kind that opens with my grandfather’s key. I just don’t know what’s inside or how to find the shipwreck.” 

Elia casts his eyes down towards the general direction of the shipwreck. There’s no doubt that Filippo is talking about that same shipwreck, that very same emblem is all over the wooden panels. 

“And your grandfather gave you the task to make this journey?” 

Filippo nods, “He told me he used to work on that ship. He was one of the sole survivors, apparently, a mermaid saved him, but everyone thought he’d gone mad after being at sea for so long,” Filippo takes a deep breath, “He’s sick now and sent my sister and me on this journey, hoping that we’d find some sort evidence that he’s not, in fact, gone mad.” 

Elia flips back into the water, “You don’t mean me, right?” He asks with his head barely above water. Filippo immediately shakes his head, holding out his hands towards Elia, “No, of course not!” 

Elia stays at a distance, deep down he knows Filippo is speaking the truth, but his grandmother’s words about trust echo in his head. 

“Elia,” Filippo stands upright on the rock, “Don’t you think I would’ve come armed if I wanted to capture you?” He’s only wearing breeches and a white shirt but still lifts his shirt to show that he’s not hiding any weapons. 

“So it’s only for the key that you came here?” 

Filippo sits down again, “Getting to know you better was also a reason.” 

Elia snorts, “What do you want to know?” 

Filippo shrugs, “Why did you come here?” 

Now Elia shrugs, “It’s adventurous.” He swims closer to Filippo again, “Are you going to stay on that rock the whole time?” 

Filippo flattens his palms against the rough surface of the rock, “Are you going to pull me in the water again if I say yes?” 

Elia smirks, “I was going to pull you in no matter what the answer was.” 

Filippo is one moment faster in standing up than Elia is in grabbing Filippo’s hands. 

“I can’t swim.” 

Elia contemplates that for a second, “I can teach you? It’s not that hard, it’s just flipping your fin and-” 

“Eli,” Filippo wiggles his toes which were at Elia’s level. Elia smiles and dips underwater only to return with a sheepish smile. 

“I’m sure I could still teach you, just get in the water.” 

Seeing as Elia puts it so simple, Filippo slowly dips his feet in the water, holding onto the rock, but Elia rolls his eyes and takes hold of his hands, fully immersing him. 

They spend the majority of the day learning and teaching how to swim, by the end Filippo is the one in the water and Elia’s is the one resting on the rock, with only the end of his tail submerged in the water. 

“Can I ask you something?” Filippo lifts himself on the rock next to Elia, who shifts his position, leaning his head on Filippo’s thigh and hums in confirmation, “When I mentioned the shipwreck, you had this look in your eye.” 

“That’s not a question.” 

Filippo rakes his fingers through Elia’s hair and lightly pulls to address Elia’s cheekiness, “Do you know where it is?” 

“There are a few shipwrecks down there.” 

“But if I could show you a drawing of the ship I’m looking for, you’d be able to find it?” Filippo stops touching Elia’s hair. Elia opens his eyes and nods hesitantly, 

“Maybe. Anything specific you’re looking for?” 

“Proof that it’s the ship I’m looking for, then we can decide what we’re going to do.” 

Elia nods and sits up. 

“I’ll be right back,” he says quickly and jumps into the ocean. Filippo is barely able to respond, and when he no longer sees Elia underneath the water he lies down again, putting his hands behind his head. He has no idea what Elia is going to do, but he has no time to wonder as a shadow looms over his eyes. Elia cannot be back yet, he guesses, so he cautiously opens one eye and immediately gets up, his hands automatically going towards his belt before he remembers that he left his gun at the ship. His next move was to take the dagger that was usually strapped to his ankle when the sun is reflected in his eyes. 

“Looking for this?” An unpleasant voice connected to an even more unpleasant face and person is twisting Filippo’s dagger onto the rock. Numerous times had the thought to kill the pirate in front of him crossed Filippo’s mind and making his favourite dagger blunt gives him even more reasons to do it slowly and painfully. Two of his disgusting henchmen stand behind Filippo. 

“Heard you were on a little adventure with your sister and her measly crew,” he grins, revealing a row of rotten teeth with a few missing. 

“What do you want, Andrea?” Filippo bites back. 

“Whatever treasure your little fish-friend is looking for.” 

Filippo squints his eyes. If he saw Elia then he must have been spying on them for a while. The stench that comes off of Andrea is unbearable, but Filippo sees no way out. Andrea is stood between where Filippo is sitting and his rowboat and in the distance, he barely sees his own ship. He’s surprised to see the Incanti ship next to it, but it has the wrong flag hoisted. Andrea turns his head to look in the direction that Filippo is looking at and brings up Filippo’s dagger to pick his teeth. 

“Oh yes, forgot to mention, overthrew my little brother’s ship, a little sibling rivalry, you know, and luckily, your pretty sister came to the rescue for the loud redhead so we took them hostage as well, so they’re not going to come to help you.” 

Filippo looks around for a way to escape the situation, but there are few things that he could do. Maybe hit Andrea’s head with one of the rocks or a sharp shell scattered around, but his henchmen would no doubt stop him before he has the chance to get close. 

“Great location, isn’t it?” Andrea grins, leaning on his elbows and aiming his face at the sun, “I wonder when your fish is going to return.” 

“Enjoy all the sun you can, because you’ll be rotting in a cell before you know it,” Filippo spits out. He gets a jab from one of the guns the henchmen are holding. 

“Now, now, no need to be so hostile.” 

There’s a flicker in the water and Andrea makes a gesture to one of the henchmen, the more musclier one, while the other pulls Filippo’s arms behind his back. With one quick motion, the man pulls Elia out of the water and Andrea giggles. 

“I’ve always wanted to know what would happen if you take merfolk out of the water, what about you, Filippo?” 

Filippo can’t answer. Elia is holding on to something, but he cannot make out what. It doesn’t matter, as Andrea pulls it out of his hands and tosses it back into the water when he realizes it’s no gold or jewels. Instead, he takes a hold of Elia’s face with one hand and inspects it, turning it from left to right. 

“Isn’t it weird how much they look like humans? But they’re freaks of nature, bring him to the ship.” 

“Leave him out of this!” Filippo shouts, trying to get away from Andrea’s lackey. 

“Can’t do, my dear, he’s going to be very useful for us. But as I am a decent human being, you can join him in captivity.” 

They put them in Filippo’s rowboat with Andrea, while the henchmen fasten it to their own boat and row them towards the ships. At first, they were going to keep Elia in the water, but Filippo heard one of the lackeys say that merpeople are generally stronger when they’re in the water, so it was best to keep him out of it. Fortunately, Filippo’s boat almost always has at least a few centimetres of water at the bottom. Elia’s fin is still submerged but that’s it and because he is leaning on Filippo, he can feel that he’s already much weaker than he was this afternoon. He blames the tight space for the fact that Elia is leaning on him, nonetheless, he’s as happy as he can be in a situation like this that he is there for him to lean on. 

They’re taken to Edoardo’s ship, but inside it looks nothing like the ship Filippo knows. Now it feels as if it had been a ghost ship for years. There are only a few of the same looking crewmembers as the ones currently holding Elia and Filippo on deck and no one of Filippo’s friends or Edoardo’s crew. 

“Lock them up below deck,” Andrea shouts at his crewmates. One pushes Filippo forward and the other tosses Elia over his shoulder. Once they’re below deck, they go in search of empty space and find only one available part. Filippo is chained to a shackle on the wall, but there is only one, so they leave Elia on the floor. He immediately crawls towards a spot where a puddle of water can be seen, as well as droplets of water falling from the ceiling. Filippo sees him close his eyes and breathe deeply. Conveniently, it’s close to Filippo and Elia lets his head fall on Filippo’s shoulder after a short while. 

The henchmen lock the cell doors and leave. 

“We’ll figure a way out of this, Elia, I promise.” 

Elia hums and Filippo attributes it to Elia being weakened, not to the fact that he is more rational and sees no way out of this. He’s quiet for a while, but then reaches out and takes Filippo's hand in his. 

“Promise?” His voice sounds weak.

“Promise,” Filippo squeezes his hand, “will you be okay?” 

Elia tries to shake his head but grimaces, “I don’t know, I’ve never been out of the water.” 

Filippo looks around their cell to see if there is anything that could be useful in these dire times. A few barrels, most of them empty. Filippo wonders if there’s one left that contains rum, which would make the circumstances more bearable. 

“I’m sorry I brought you into this,” he whispers into Elia’s hair. 

A painful smile appears on Elia’s face, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had.” 

⁂

A few hours pass and slowly the sunlight that is streaming through the little round window is replaced by moonlight. They have both dozed off a few times, but a night full of sleep is out of the question. The only times they have seen their guards is when they’re tossing a bucket of water through the cell bars onto Elia’s tail and onto Filippo by proximity, but he doesn’t mind all that much. It’s quiet, except for a ticking sound that appears at regular intervals. He realized earlier that it’s definitely coming from outside the ship, but Filippo is still chained to the wall and Elia is sleeping on his shoulder, there’s no way he could get up to see what’s going on outside. He doesn’t have to, as several wooden planks start to shatter when the ticking starts again and a little while later, a hole is blasted through the planks, only an inch removed from where Filippo is sitting. If he turns his head, he can make out several mermaids and mermen into the water and after squinting his eyes, he sees not only the Savage but also the Refuge, Dario’s ship in the distance, with Edoardo and Eleonora shouting orders, working together with the merfolk to throw and fire objects at the Incanti. He returns towards his original seating position when he sees a large projectile heading towards the ship that they’re on. Now that half of the wooden planks next to him are obliterated, the wood that has his shackle chained to is easy to be removed. Before he does so, he wakes up a dozed off Elia and fills him in on what is happening outside. With one strong pull, he pulls off the shackle. They hear a commotion near the entrance of the cell block, with one last look at each other and no second thought, they jump into the ocean. They swim as fast as they can, Elia having regained his strength now that he’s in the water again, but it isn’t fast enough. Filippo feels a sharp pain in his shoulder and when turns his head to see what caused it, he sees his own dagger sticking out of his shoulder. Elia must feel his grip weakening and turns around now too, his eyes finding the dagger immediately. By now, they’re surrounded by several of the merfolk, with Elia’s friends at the forefront. 

“What were you thinking?” Giovanni says as he puts his arm underneath Filippo to help Elia. 

“Can we not do this in the midst of this, please?” Elia glares, hoping to get to rocks of Dolphin Mountain as fast as possible treat Filippo’s wound, “How did you even find us?” 

“I followed you,” Martino chirps in, “You were acting as suspicious as I was a few months ago.” A glance of understanding passes between them. 

“He needs help, Elia,” Luca joins in, “I know who can help.” Without another word, he dives underneath the surface and returns once they’re at Dolphin Mountain with Elia’s grandmother in tow. She only needs one glimpse at Filippo’s shoulder to push everyone away from him and starts applying ointments that she takes out of her bag one by one combined with whispers of words that the boys can barely understand. Then his grandmother ushers them all away and leaves Filippo, barely conscious but bandaged and healing at the rocks. 

⁂

It doesn’t take long before Eleonora and a few others find Filippo. The battle now over, the crew of the Refuge having entered the Incanti, arresting Andrea and his crew. They take Filippo back to his quarters and once he is able to sit back up, Eleonora fills him in on how they teamed up with Edoardo and Dario. Apparently, Dario had reason to believe that Andrea was already following both the Savage and the Incanti on another stolen ship and started following the ships on his own account to warn them. Knowing that Filippo would be suspicious of the Refuge he stayed at a distance but observed everything that happened from the moment Eva left the Savage. When he saw that Filippo left the Savage, he sent out scouts to inform the Incanti and the Savage and together they came up with a plan to let them be caught by Andrea. With Edoardo and Eleonora’s help, they knew that they would be able to outsmart Andrea and his ragtag crew. Not a moment too soon had they finalized the plan when they heard Andrea’s crew on deck. They were held captive on their own ship, which they had hoped for, so they were able to free themselves easily, overthrowing the intruders stealthily. Once they knew that Filippo had been caught they turned their attention towards the Incanti but were pleasantly surprised when they found dozens of merpeople already in battle mode to damage the ship. Edoardo grimaced every time a cannonball or other projectile hit his ship, but Eleonora smiled at him and he promptly forgot about the damage. They saw Filippo jump out of the ship and guessed that he would be brought to Dolphin Mountain. 

⁂

Months pass, in which the Savage returns to land to let Filippo heal completely. He doesn’t think it is necessary, itching to get back out onto the sea only after a few days of being in their home on land, a small but famous inn that his parents are running. He’s still on bed rest but doesn’t understand why. For a mere shoulder wound? That was healed using some kind of merfolk magic? He should be out on the sea again, on adventures, annoying his sister and her crew. They still haven’t found the wreckage and it’s what Filippo feared the most, coming back from the journey empty-handed. This fear heightens once his grandfather walks into the room, supported by his walking cane and Eleonora. But there is no sign of anger or disappointment on his grandfather’s face, only a soft smile as Eleonora helps him sit down on the chair next to Filippo’s bed. She kisses his head and leaves the room, while his grandfather takes Filippo’s hand in his. 

“You saw them, didn’t you?” His voice is low and calm, but the glimmer in his eyes betrays his excitement to hear about Filippo’s journey and one part in particular. Filippo gently squeezes his grandfather’s hand and nods. 

“I did.” 

“I could tell from the moment I saw the bandages on your shoulder,” he stares at a spot on the wall, sighs deeply and continues, “How I would like to see her again one more time.” 

“Then what are we waiting for?” Filippo says before he can stop himself. He knows his grandfather is old and has not been on a ship in years, but once a pirate always a pirate. His grandfather casts his eyes down. 

“I’m old, Filippo, my heart longs for the sea, but I fear it is already too late, going on a ship is not for me anymore.” 

Filippo pushes himself off his band and kneels in front of his grandfather, taking both hands in his, “Then we go on land, travel by day, sleep in inns, grandfather, please. I was not able to say goodbye and I cannot live like this.” 

His grandfather looks at him and then to the door where Eleonora reappears, having heard the end of the conversation. She takes one look at both of them and holds up her hands in frustration. 

“Fine, I’ll make the preparations.” 

⁂

They leave the next day and have no trouble finding places to sleep, the name of Sava opening plenty of doors. His grandfather being loved by many in every place he enters, children flocking to him when he starts telling about all the adventures he went on when he was younger. Filippo has heard them all countless times before and sits at a distance, nursing either beer or rum. In every tavern or inn, boys and men stare at him and demand his attention, but he’s only focused on the task at hand and more than once, his mind wanders off to cheeky smiles and soft brown eyes. Coincidentally, they reach their destination to the day that the disaster occurred all those years ago. They’re standing on top of Dolphin Mountain and stare into the distance. Filippo doesn’t dare to hope that a certain someone had the same idea to go here on this day, but he cannot believe his eyes as he finally looks down and sees two figures on one of the bigger rocks that protrude out of the sea. He starts looking for a way down and alerts his grandfather. Tears appear in his grandfather’s eyes and even faster than Filippo is he making his way down the rocks slowly but steady. By now, Elia and his grandmother have also spotted the visitors. While Elia swims towards the edge of the mountain, to help Filippo’s grandfather, not even knowing he who is, cross over the rocks, his grandmother waits until he reaches her. 

“I never thought I would see you again.” He kneels on the rock opposite of her and takes her hands in his. Tears are streaming down their faces. After a while, Elia’s grandmother lets go of his hands and takes the small treasure chest out of her bag. Elia, until now keeping a distance together with Filippo, shares a look with Filippo, who doesn’t understand the significance of the box, until his grandfather starts talking.

“You have had this the whole time?” He says, but his grandmother ignores him. She rummages through her bag again, but before she can find what she is looking for, Filippo’s grandfather takes out a necklace from underneath his shirt. A necklace with a golden key attached to it, not unlike the one that Elia took from Filippo all those weeks ago. 

“Looking for this?” He smiles and together they twist the lock on the chest. 

“I held onto it for all these years, hoping that one day I would be able to return it to you.” Elia’s grandmother says as she takes out a golden ring with a red diamond. Filippo’s grandfather closer her hands around it with his hands. 

“It was a token of gratitude, without you, I would never have survived and I will be forever grateful for what you have done for me and so many other survivors of the tragedy, as I have been for all these years. And now it feels like I should give you more riches as you not only saved mine but also my grandson’s life.” 

“I knew who he was from the moment I saw him,” she whispers and Filippo’s grandfather winks at her. 

“He has my looks, hasn’t he?” 

And Filippo drops his head in his hands, blushing. He did not travel all this way to be embarrassed by his grandfather. Elia pokes his side, 

“You do look like him, he’s very attractive for his age.” 

“Will you shut up? He’s literally almost a century old,” Filippo pushes Elia’s shoulder, then it dawns on him, “Did you just call me attractive?”

Elia shakes his head, “I called your grandfather attractive, you’re ok, I guess.” 

They both chuckle at the same time, 

“So is there anyone else you would spend the day at this mountain with, be captured by an evil pirate, only to be saved by an alliance of pirates and merfolk?” Filippo asks. Elia purses his lips in thought and shakes his head again. 

“No, you were great company, would do it again any time.” 

“Good to hear,” Filippo wraps his arm around Elia’s shoulder and watches his grandfather talk animated to Elia’s grandmother. When it gets darker, Filippo tells his grandfather that they should be heading back to the inn. As he is about to get up, Elia’s grandmother takes hold of his hand and gifts him a white pearl. 

“Now you have something to remember me as well.” 

⁂

Elia and his grandmother say goodbye and watch them go up the mountain again. Once they cannot see Filippo and his grandfather anymore, she turns towards her grandson. 

“There is seawater in his blood now, Elia.” His grandma places her hands on his shoulder and stares deeply into his eyes. It doesn’t click in his head until she presses a little harder on the spot in Elia’s shoulder, mirroring where the dagger entered Filippo’s shoulder. 

“He could-?” 

She nods with a soft smile, “You should ask him next time you see him.” 

⁂

Months pass. Filippo and Eleonora’s grandfather passing away only days after they return home, clutching the pearl tightly in his hands. They bury him with it. 

⁂ 

Filippo is finally allowed to step onto a ship again, but this time it’s for the last time. He had made the journey to Dolphin Mountain again a few months ago and Elia had told him something that went beyond his wildest imagination. He said that he would return in a few months to tell him his decision, having to make several arrangements beforehand. Now the last day of this journey has arrived. He slides his hands over all the furniture in his captain’s quarters and steps out onto the deck. Eleonora’s crew is waiting and he says goodbye to all of them. Next are Edoardo and his crew, now that the Incanti has joined hundreds of other ships at the bottom of the ocean, his crew and Eleonora’s have merged. 

“I’m sorry about the ship, Edoardo.” Filippo extends his hand and Edoardo shakes it. 

“Don’t worry about it, I heard the Savage is an even better and faster ship, and I’m honoured I can be a part of Eleonora’s crew.” He replies with a small bow and puts his other arm around Eleonora’s waist, pulling her closer. Eleonora smiles and turns to her brother, 

“I think you have someone waiting for you at the lagoon, Filippo.” Eleonora smiles, tipping his- her captain’s hat. 

With one last hug, the siblings say goodbye to each other and each go their own way until they meet again. 

⁂

It doesn’t take long until Elia shows up this time. He doesn’t say a word but smiles and extends his hands. Filippo willingly lets him be dragged underwater, deeper and deeper. Until he cannot breathe anymore and instinctively pulls against Elia’s force, but Elia doesn’t let go. Filippo lets it happen to him, especially when Elia looks back at him and smiles reassuringly. They’re in a dark part of the ocean, Filippo thinks, but it’s the last thing he does when his eyes close and he feels the pressure of someone’s lips against his. 

Then he feels a sharp pain in his chest which expands to his entire body, increasing when it reaches his legs and it starts to burn. He wants to scratch the pain away but Elia is still holding his hands and won’t let go. 

⁂  
It’s a few days later when Filippo gets out of Elia’s room for the first time and is met with an excited Elia who immediately swims around him a few times.  
“How does it feel? Are you happy? What do you want to do today? There are so many people I want to introduce you too” Elia shoots question after question at him as if he didn’t just change his whole life and turned into a merman, Filippo flips his new tail carefully, not entirely sure how it works when Elia dashes forward and holds out his hands for Filippo to take.  
“You know, my tail used to be pink when I was a merbaby, then it turned purple and now it’s this blue,” Elia wiggles his fin, splashing water onto Filippo’s new tail, “who knows, maybe this holo-tail isn’t permanent.”  
He swims closer to Filippo, twisting his own tail around Filippo’s and puts his arms around his neck. Filippo puts his hands on Elia’s waist and rubs their noses together.  
“But let’s be real, you wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Small author’s note:  
> \- I love mermaids, I am also interested in (the golden age of) pirates but I am also terrified of the ocean and everything that lives or could live in it, so while I tried to do a bit of research for this, I was also very afraid every time I looked for sth in google, I have seen enough gloomy-looking ship wreckages and scary fish to last me a lifetime (actually no, one day I’ll write a wlw mermaid novel, one day 🌟)  
> \- The title comes from Ovid’s metamorphosis, which I remembered from high school, the entire sentence doesn’t fit the fic, but transformation? Check, underwater? Check, so it was in my head as the title and my mind wouldn’t let me think of another one  
> \- I used a book called “the pirates: for children who want to know everything about them” for research and I regret nothing 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it
> 
> Please consider leaving a comment or send me sth on [Tumblr](https://elippo.tumblr.com/)


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